NEW YORK -- Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette spoke with reporters in the Orioles clubhouse following the team's season-ending American League Division Series Game 5 loss to the Yankees at Yankee Stadium:

How satisfied are you with this season?

I’m proud of the effort of the whole organization. We took some great strides forward. We’re a first-division outfit. To win 96 games is really an accomplishment and I’m proud of the work and effort that everyone did. Obviously we’re disappointed in today’s game. But we got beat by a good pitcher today. We got our opportunities in the series to win the series. [In a] short series, you need to convert when you have the opportunity and we didn’t quite convert on all of our opportunities.”

Was this season a success?

The season for the organization was a successful season. Our players connected with our fans. We have a group of core players here that our fans should be able to see that we can build around and field a competitive team. I’m just really proud of all the work and effort that everyone did.

What do you think this season meant to the city of Baltimore?

The fans are very happy, right. They’re coming out to the ballpark and they’re supporting the team. I think the fans played a role in helping us beat the Yankees in a couple of the ballgames we played them at home. It’s really nice to see baseball front and center in Baltimore. It’s a great baseball town and these guys here, they compete every night and I think our fans appreciate that.

How long until you start planning for the offseason?

There’s plenty of time for that. Today, we put the postscript on a season where we improved more than any team in baseball. And we won 96 games including three playoff games. We won a couple of playoff games before the end of the season. This team should be really proud of itself. We’ve got a lot to look forward to ahead.